Conventional step systems which generally are equipped with a brush in the vicinity of the open gap between a footplate and a vehicle-side rail, are used in vehicles, in particular in vehicles for passenger transport, such as rail vehicles and buses. Said brush serves for cleaning the footplate and for protection against any debris entering into the vehicle inner space. One step rail is arranged on the vehicle side on a gate of the footplate of the vehicle, for example on a door gate. Said door gate is tightened by means of a brush, which however sometimes provides insufficient seal against debris or introduction of factors from the environment. When retracting the footplate, debris, such as for example split, small stones or ice and snow, are removed by the brush from the footplate only to a small extent and insufficiently and mostly accumulate again even in front of the brush and the vehicle-side step rail. When passing on a brush, then, debris shall be transported into the vehicle inner space during the retraction process of the footplate through the door gate and must be removed during maintenance work. From time to time, it also happens that debris such as winter highway gritting, split, salt, or ice and snow lead to jamming when retracting the footplate into the door gate, which might entail dysfunctions and failures of the entire transport system, in turn.